Texas has launched the first state-run cryptocurrency reserve, with a $5 million bitcoin purchase. The move is the latest in the state’s embrace of the crypto mining industry, and other states may have their own crypto reserves soon. Texas welcomed crypto mining after China banned it in 2021. And by one count, at least 60 power-hungry crypto mines — essentially computer clusters running 24/7 — are now operating in the state. “Texas has had a tremendously open grid situation with plenty of electricity,” said Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston’s economics department. And while a $5 million bitcoin ... (full story)